[GTFS Digest] July 2024 - Stay Informed: 3 New Adoptions and a Vote to Watch¶

Key updates include the inclusion of shapes.txt for all route-based services (#470), clarification of stop_times.timepoint to mean no timepoint values are provided if empty (#474), and feed_info.txt updated to be Conditionally Required (#460). The community is voting on updates to stops.txt requirements for demand-responsive services (#472).

The GTFS Digest is a resource generated monthly by MobilityData providing an overview of developments on GTFS.

We really value your feedback and would like to know how we did. We invite you to fill out this form and help us achieve the full potential of this tool.

🏅 Contributor Shoutouts¶

Stefan de Konink

Shoutout for handling the conversation on #481 like a champ. It’s not easy to juggle different viewpoints when proposing changes.

Muhammed Yaseen & Amal

Thank you for joining the GTFS community on Slack and asking valuable questions on resources that can help everyone.

Steve White & Jonathan McHatton

Thank you for contributing on #gtfs-realtime. We are sure that the community will get back to you in no time and help you out in your inquiries.

Matt Caywood

Your contribution on #gtfs-flex has not gone unnoticed! We are sure that you are not the only one asking this question.

🚀 Recently Adopted¶

Add that shapes should be included #470

This change adds a “should” statement in shapes.txt to specify that shapes.txt should be included for all route-based services, instead of making it recommended in all cases since zone-based demand-responsive services can now be modeled in GTFS.

Clarify intended use for timepoint in stop_times.txt #474

This change clarifies the empty semantics for stop_times.timepoint, specifying that an empty value means no timepoint values are provided for any record in stop_times.txt, and if provided, all records that have times associated should have timepoint values of 0 or 1.

Update requirement for feed_info.txt #460

This PR updates the presence description for feed_info.txt, to better align with the specification formatting and provide additional clarity on the requirement of the file, making it Conditionally Required.

🗳️ Currently Voting¶

Change stops.txt presence because of demand responsive services #472

This PR proposes to update the presence of stops.txt after the adoption of flex, changing it from Required to Conditionally Required (required if locations.geojson doesn't exist, optional otherwise).

📂 Active Proposals¶

Add that headsigns are recommended #485

This PR proposes to add a statement that headsigns is recommended for all services with headsign text displayed on the vehicle which may be used to distinguish amongst trips in a route.

[GTFS Fares v2] Area Set matching predicates #483

In the current fare_leg_rules.txt, only origin and destination areas can be used as predicates, which cannot effectively describe some more complex zonal fare structures. This PR suggests adding collections of stop areas or “area sets” as predicates. \ \ Clarification of CANCELED/SKIPPED TripUpdates VS NO_SERVICE Alerts #482

This PR proposes to clarify If an Alert with Effect.NO_SERVICE exists and conflicts with values in TripUpdates, Alerts should be considered the source of truth.

Add validity rules for polygons in locations.geojson #476

This PR proposes to refer to the OpenGIS Simple Features Specification, section 6.1.11 to improve the validity rules for flex polygons, instead of describing all the ways in which polygons can be invalid in GTFS.

Other open proposals:

🔥 Most Active Conversations¶

Scheduled reinforcement trips #481

Stefan addresses the need for GTFS to support scheduled reinforcement trips that only become available in travel information services once confirmed by the operator, proposing an additional column in trips.txt to mark these trips, and discusses the limitations and potential solutions within existing GTFS and GTFS-RT frameworks.

Make headsigns a recommended GTFS field #480

This issue continues the discussion from #461 about the optional GTFS fields, proposing that the trip_headsign field should be recommended due to its widespread use and utility in production data, while considering potential challenges for routes without headsigns and exploring solutions such as a new has_headsign field to indicate the presence or absence of headsigns.

Center coordinate or Bounding box definition in feed_info.txt #471

Mustafa from Mathematician suggested adding fields in feed_info.txt that indicate a center point to focus on the area it represents on the map.

📅 Upcoming Events¶

Governance Working Group Meeting | August 8, 2024 @ 11 am EDT

Topics : Final in the GTFS governance Revamp

GTFS-Fares v2 – Monthly meetings | August 27, 2024 @ 11 am EDT

Topics : GTFS-Fares v2 extension Working Group Meeting

💬 Join the GTFS Community¶

GitHub: google/transit: Share your ideas with the community! Join the official GTFS GitHub repository.

GTFS-changes: Get updates as soon as they happen, join the GTFS-changes google groups to get information about new pull requests and votes.

GTFS-realtime: Talk everything Realtime and stay up to date. This group is discussing the GTFS Realtime, asking questions, and proposing changes.

GTFS.org: The official GTFS documentation website. Here you will find frequently updated resources for your GTFS needs.

MobilityData Slack: Have a question about GTFS or need to connect with the community? Join in on GTFS slack conversations. This is a great place to have questions answered quickly by the over 1,300 mobility enthusiasts navigating our channels.

**Thank you for reading the eight edition of the GTFS Digest! We look forward to bringing you the latest GTFS updates in 2024 and beyond. **